Bulls vs. Heat reactions that bug me and reactions that don't.

Discussion in 'Chicago Bulls' started by MikeDC, Mar 7, 2011.

  1. MikeDC

    MikeDC Member

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    So I'm driving around today and I heard some NBA clown on the radio today that bugged me. And I heard another guy who bugged me at first, but then I decided it didn't care.

    The latter guy said the Bulls were "maxing out there talent" and the Heat were really much more talented. At first, I was like, WTF, we just swept them. And we've got plenty of talent. But then I thought, isn't that just another way of saying the Heat are less than the sum of their parts? Which pretty much everyone agrees with?

    The first guy though, was totally clueless. The host of the show pointed out that while, say, the Bulls dynasty was cheered most everywhere it went except NY, Detroit and Indiana, and even the Spurs fans gave respectful cheers for the abilities of the Lakers yesterday, the Heat are universally disliked. The clown the host was talking to said it's just because people like to bring people down, and hate on things instead of being fans these days.

    Let me propose a much simpler solution. The Bulls and Lakers commanded respect from and gave enjoyment to fans because they were/are great teams that have won something significant. The Heat haven't done anything to earn anyone's respect. And for that matter, they've done more to irritate people in their short existence than the Bulls did in a decade.

    On the whole, fans are very forgiving of folks who win and provide them lots of enjoyment. Shit, Kobe Bryant was somewhat credibly accused of raping someone, and he's back to being one of the most popular players in the league. Fans are quite a bit less forgiving of guys who tout themselves as the biggest thing since sliced bread and end up getting their asses kicked. Isn't this a simpler explanation?
     
  2. truebluefan

    truebluefan Administrator Staff Member Administrator

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    It's the way they did it. They knew what they wanted. They acted like they didnt. Especially James...paraded from team to team as if they had a chance, knowing he was going to Miami all along. And Wade, used his home town, and the Bulls front office that Friday night to visit us again as if he was serious about coming here! All he was doing was warning Riley, sign Bosh now. The players ran the asylum! They are doing it now. Then of course was the special on ESPN, the screw Cleveland show! I thought he was leaving and quite frankly I thought it was classless to do that to Cleveland!

    Miami has to go undefeated from here on out to match what James did last season at Cleveland! Amazing.

    Reminds me of the laker team with Shaq, Payton, Malone, and Kobe. People wanted to cancel the season and just hand over the trophy. Why play it out? Lakers were too good. Reminds me in what is going on in Miami. James and Wade are too similar! They need to ball in their hands, and there is just one ball.

    Getting back to your point, Miami is much more talented. Yes, individual talent of two players. The top SF in the league and maybe the best player as well. Top SG, one can argue that, and Bosh is not a top PF. Top 10, yes, but from 5-10. A lot of very good PF's in the league! That being said, you still play the game. Coaches coach, players play! Whoever is ahead at the end wins.

    Heat fans are still saying they will beat us in the playoffs. Fans do that. We shall see. Truth is we beat them in all 3 games and if feels very satisfying especially after the Wade fiasco!

    Mikedc, we were not liked during those years by most teams because we won. Six titles in seven years gets tiresome to homers on the other teams.

    Good point about Kobe! Even I have put it behind me and look at him as a player. As for the big 3, each time they lose to an elite team, the charade they pulled last summer still haunts me! They deserve the fact that they are not beating top teams. Teams wont roll over for them. They are not the second coming.
     
  3. JayJohnstone

    JayJohnstone Active Member

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    Nice post Mike!

    p.s. What's great is that Miami could be the lower seed and they will have more pressure on them in the playoffs than we do b/c they are such asses.
     
  4. transplant

    transplant Global Moderator Staff Member Global Moderator

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    In terms of talent, the Heat have 3 superbly talented players, two being of the transcendent variety. However, they have the obvious depth problem...and they have a redundancy problem. They've also won 68% of their games.

    As for the guy who claims that the reason for the Heat hate is that "fans these days" just love to hate, he kind of messed up that argument by citing the recent example in how Spurs fans respectfully applauded the Lakers while LA was beating holy hell out of their team. Those respectful clappers were "fans these days."

    There's no doubt that there are fans that love to hate, but they're not a recent phenomenon. From my experience, they're just small and unhappy people. The Heat have a lot more folks than the natural-born haters who will take joy when they fail.

    Honestly, the Heat remind me of the young Cassius Clay/Ali. Like Ali, they kind of flipped the established order of the sports world the bird and did it in a way that made certain that everyone knew it was being rubbed in their faces. The difference of course was that Ali did it very purposefully, fully recognizing the emotions he was unleashing. Ali wanted to be despised because he knew he could turn those feelings into wider fan interest (and of course, money). The Heat players seemed to embrace the villain role at first. Lately, not so much.

    Ali famously said, "It ain't bragging if you can back it up." As the villain, he never lost. The Heat on the other hand...
     
  5. bullshooter

    bullshooter Active Member

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    I think you've got it Mike. People tend to gravitate towards teams and players that give a consistent effort and play together and look like they care. The Heat have yet to learn how to play off of each other. I think a big problem is that against 75% of the league, the Heat don't have to do anything other than take turns going one on one. Wade, Lebron and Bosh talk about making sacrifices, but it looks they think that that only means sacrificing shot attempts. Lebron should be playing out of the post, Bosh has yet to get a tough rebound, and Wade should be playing lock down defense.

    But the best part of it has to be the collective whining. Just when you think it can't get any worse, it does and one of the three says something completely self-absorbed.
     

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